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Facial Attractiveness and Lifetime Earnings: Evidence from a Cohort Study

Author

Listed:
  • John Karl Scholz

    (University of Wisconsin–Madison, College of Letters & Science)

  • Kamil Sicinski

    (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Center for Demography of Health and Aging and the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study)

Abstract

We use unique longitudinal data to document an economically and statistically significant positive correlation between the facial attractiveness of male high school graduates and their subsequent labor market earnings. There are only weak links between facial attractiveness and direct measures of cognitive skills and no link between facial attractiveness and mortality. Even after including a lengthy set of characteristics, including IQ, high school activities, proxy measures for confidence and personality, family background, and additional respondent characteristics in an empirical model of earnings, the attractiveness premium is present in the respondents’ mid-30s and early 50s. Our findings are consistent with attractiveness being an enduring, positive labor market characteristic. © 2015 The President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Suggested Citation

  • John Karl Scholz & Kamil Sicinski, 2015. "Facial Attractiveness and Lifetime Earnings: Evidence from a Cohort Study," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 97(1), pages 14-28, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:97:y:2015:i:1:p:14-28
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    File URL: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/REST_a_00435
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    longitudinal; data; facial attractiveness; labor market earnings;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J80 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - General
    • J59 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Other

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